A call for perspective on New Jersey corruption

The authoritative radio voice of Robin Lustig, anchor of the BBC World Service, gets on the line. "What is it about New Jersey?" he asks. "Why is it so corrupt?"

Oh, great. He's in London, where the national government is enduring a scandal involving parliamentary expense accounts, a scandal that brought down the House speaker and the justice minister -- and he's asking me about corruption in New Jersey.

Mahala Gaylord/The Star-LedgerRalph J. Marra, Jr., Acting U.S. Attorney answers questions at a press conference in Newark last month addressing the federal investigation of public corruption and international money laundering conspiracy in which 44 individuals were charged.

Wasn't helped by Ed Kahrer, the FBI's chief of white-collar crime in the state, who said, "New Jersey's corruption problem is one of the worst, if not the worst, in the nation. Corruption is a cancer that is destroying the core values of this state."

Not long ago, his Chicago counterpart said the same thing about Illinois.

Maybe there's some sort of competition going among G-men. Some organization recently listed North Dakota as the most corrupt state in the union -- with Jersey way back in ninth place -- based on corruption convictions per 100,000 residents.

Some perspective. Yes, 44 people were arrested -- but a lot of them had absolutely nothing to do with government and were not even from New Jersey.

The sting nabbed three mayors and two assemblymen. That's bad, no question, but those who see this as the End Days should read history. Like when Mafia boss Angelo "Gyp" DeCarlo boasted about Newark Mayor Hugh Addonizio that "he gave us the city." The subsequent investigation brought down almost the entire city government.

How about Jersey City and Hudson County under John V. Kenny? These were multimillion-dollar scandals involving all manner of bribes and kickbacks.

The recent scandal is bad, sure -- all scandals are bad. But this is the feds using a human wrecking ball named Solomon Dwek -- charged in a $25 million bank fraud -- to entice the all-too-human and incredibly dumb into taking bribes as small as $2,500.

Read the affidavits. For some of these guys, Dwek had to go back repeatedly and ask them to take the cash. No, not entrapment -- you can just say, "No" -- but spare me this is as bad as government by mob or multimillion-dollar kickbacks on city contracts.

Virtually all these alleged bribes were discussed as campaign contributions. Some defendants were political neophytes and it's not even clear they knew the rules for donations -- or what constitutes a quid pro quo that turns a contribution into a bribe.

Of course, ignorance is no excuse -- but it's also not grounds for teeth-gnashing conclusions that Jersey suffers from a cancer "destroying the core values" of the state.

Perhaps Kahrer should visit Washington and spend time in the halls of Congress. It's like Halloween trick-or-treat with legions of lobbyists selling their wares and elected representatives accepting contributions associated with those lobbyists' causes.

A Congressman gets big contributions from insurance political action committees -- then votes against health care reforms opposed by the industry. What's the difference between that and a city council candidate agreeing to look favorably on a zoning change in return for a $5,000 campaign contribution?

A few words in a statute, that's the difference. The amount of money. The way in which the contribution is recorded. Otherwise, it's still the sale of votes -- one legal, the other not. Morally, it's the same operation.

I do not condone what happened in Jersey City, Secaucus and Hoboken. Those who broke the law should be prosecuted and punished, but, please, let's not paint an entire state and its people and all the people's elected representatives the color of corruption because of what really was, compared to corruption probes in the past, a sting operation -- most of it begun only within the last few months -- that could have the coincidental effect of helping Solomon Dwek skate from major bank fraud charges.

And, while we're talking about the law, let's remember other laws -- and what Kahrer likes to call "core values" -- as well. Like the laws guaranteeing the presumption of innocence. Or the right of the accused to a fair trial. The core value of fairness.

The feds released what amounted to a small book of narratives. Great detail. Great quotes. Might as well have been written by Harlan Coban. Little stories about money stuffed in cereal boxes and one jerk complaining $2,500 wasn't enough.

But it's only one side of the story. Not even a grand jury filtered this -- all charges were done by complaints. Amazing how many people who otherwise believe government is flawed make exceptions for prosecutions -- except for the military, the most powerful function of government.

One wonders if these defendants can get fair trials. One wonders if New Jersey can get a fair shake.

Recall the question posed by former U.S. Labor Secretary Ray Donovan from Short Hills after he was acquitted of corruption charges. He looked around the federal building in New York and asked: "Which office do I go to, to get my reputation back?"